AMERICAN trucking and intermodal giant, JB Hunt Transport Services, has signed an agreement with the Norfolk Southern Railway that "will further establish the parties as leading providers of transcontinental and local intermodal service in the eastern half of the United States."

While known as a truckload carrier, JB Hunt now receives most revenue from intermodal operations, reported Newark's Journal of Commerce. Its intermodal business segment took in US$456 million in revenue in the third quarter, more than half its total sales of $834 million.

JB Hunt already has an existing long-term contract with BNSF Railway in the western states, and is the largest container customer for the railway which is America's largest container carrier, reported American Shipper.

Under the deal, each party has "a platform to accelerate the conversion of traditional truck traffic to cost effective, environmentally friendly intermodal transportation with service that is competitive with truckload moves," said JB Hunt.

Norfolk Southern CEO Wick Moorman said the agreement gives both parties "shared incentives to grow volume and revenues by converting substantial volumes of freight from highway to rail.

"We look forward to offering new, high-speed services to domestic intermodal customers over our entire network, including our new Crescent Corridor route, from New England, northern New Jersey and Pennsylvania south to Memphis and New orleans," said Mr Moorman.

                                                                                                                                                             Source?Shipping Online